Fitzgerald's Hotel and Casino
The Fitzgerald's was a hotel and casino located where The D is today in the beginning of the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas. The casino was originally the Sundance until 1987, when the casino reopened as the Fitzgerald's, which operated until 2012, when it became The D. One of the most interesting and unique properties about the Fitzgerald's was that inside of the casino was what was called, "The Chunk of the Blarney Stone", which people would kiss for free for good luck. History Fitzgerald's, which was originally the Sundance, officially opened in 1987. At the time, the hotel and casino was owned by Lincoln Management Group (now known as Fitzgeralds Gaming) Majestic Star Casino LLC, owned by Don Barden, bought the Fitzgerald's, along with other Fitzgerald's casinos in Mississippi and Colorado in 2001, making it the first time an African-American person to own a casino in the Las Vegas area. He also owned the casino all the way until his death in early 2011. On may of 2002, it was announced that during a renovation, the giant 34-foot statue of the Fitzgerald's mascot, Mr. O'Lucky, would taken down piece by piece by the end of the month and taken to the Neon Museum. Plans also called for a new 32-seat outdoor dining area situated under the Fremont Street Experience canopy, along with new carpeting and wallpaper throughout the hotel and casino. Sadly, sometime in 2008, the leprechaun statue caught on fire in the boneyard, leaving only the wire frame remaining. A group of homeless men living illegally inside the boneyard were to blame. Several months after Don Barden's death in early 2011, the ownership of the Fitzgerald's went to Derek and Greg Stevens, who are also owners of the nearby Golden Gate Hotel and Casino. Only one year later in the fall of 2012, Derek and Greg Stevens officially announced that the casino was no more, and it would be fully renovated and renamed into "The D." On November of 2010, the Fitzgerald's went to court after the operator, Majestic Star Casino LLC filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The suit, filed by atorney John Krieger of the Las Vegas office of law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, was for an alleged trademark infringement over the hotel's website, www.fitzgeraldslasvegas.net. The stolen website address was registered in March of 2009. The defendants were Hambledon N.V., Smart Answer S.A., and Susan Gonzales, who were all doing business in Panama, as the lawsuit says. After the Fitzgerald's became The D, multiple signs were donated to the Neon Museum, which would open only a few months later. Thematic Influence The Fitzgerald's is heavily themed off of the country and culture of Ireland, including four-leaf clovers, which according to mythology, can bring good luck. The entire casino itself has a heavy use of the colors green and gold, with pots of gold, leprechauns (Including the hotel and casino's mascot), and rainbows are also present.Category:Closed Category:1980s Category:Hotels with less than 1,000 rooms Category:Fremont Street Category:Downtown Las Vegas Category:Fremont Street Experience